The Chamber of Deputies rejected the constitutionality and merit rulings presented by the oppositions to the Italicum. The votes, carried out by secret ballot, closed respectively with 384 and 385 deputies against, against 209 and 208 in favour. The Government had chosen not to raise the issue of trust.
Also rejected one request for suspension pending the reform of the Senate presented by the leader of Forza Italia, Renato Brunetta. In this case, there were 369 votes against, against 209 in favour.
The process of the law can therefore continue to run its course with examining and voting on amendments and on the entire text.
The gap between the numbers of the majority and those of the opposition was 175 in the first vote and 177 in the second vote.
No surprises came from the secret of the urn: the missing votes to the numbers on which the majority can theoretically count (396 in all) were 12 in the first vote and 11 in the second. Few the absences in the hemicycle, where only 37 deputies were missing (593 total voters).
“The crucial passage of the vote on the preliminary rulings on the constitutionality and merits of the Italicum showed an important holding of the majority – wrote the vice president of the Chamber, Marina Sereni -. The will of the Chamber was clear: to go ahead to approve the electoral reform and finally give the country a good law that allows for combining representation and governance and that entrusts voters with the choice not only of their representatives in Parliament, but also of the government address".
